Lake Barcroft History Book

WID Special Election (April 24, 1973)
authorizing the reconstruction and improvement of the dam in
accordance with the plans that had been submitted.
One by one, the hurdles were cleared. The next issues facing
the residents centered on three referendums. The first required
landowners to mail in advisory ballots to the Northern
Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District indicating their
approval of the proposed WID. By the end of January 1973,
892 residents had voted, with an overwhelming 98 percent
approval rate. As a result of that show of support, the
NVS&WCD created the Lake Barcroft WID on January 31,
1973, and petitioned the circuit court of Fairfax County to
conduct a poll that would: (1) further ratify the creation of the
WID, (2) authorize a tax increase, and (3) sanction bonded
indebtedness of up to $2 million.
The WID Vote
After considerable legal battles on where and when to vote and
who could participate in the voting, the big day—April 24—
arrived. LABARCA, under the leadership of George Overby,
shouldered the responsibility to get out the vote. A battalion of
members, organized by section and block, canvassed
neighborhoods. A last-minute Mini-Newsletter emphasized
that “No vote is a no vote.” The polls opened at Belvedere
School on Columbia Pike at six o’clock in the morning under
the watchful eyes of Woman’s Club volunteers. Other club
members served as poll watchers, baby-sitters, drivers and
telephone callers. The association made every conceivable
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attempt to produce a
strong turnout, and their
efforts were successful. For
example, several residents
who were unable to walk
voted at the curb; and a
female resident on the way
to the hospital arrived on a
stretcher to cast her vote.
The polls closed at seven
o’clock in the evening.
Within minutes, residents
began sorting, checking
and counting ballots. Fifty
or so of those most deeply
involved in the campaign
gathered at Il Castillo for
refreshments and dinner
while awaiting the results,
which were finalized
around midnight. The
May newsletter was able to
report success under the
headline: “WE MADE
IT!” Of those voting, the
response was overwhelmingly positive—between 98.4 and
99.4 percent casting their ballots for the WID, and therefore a
self-imposed tax. Even if invalidated ballots, no-shows and
unreturned absentee ballots were considered negative votes, all
three referendums passed by margins of approximately 20
percent. To celebrate, LABARCA sponsored a party on May 4
at the Gerbers’ home on Crosswoods Drive, where the USS
Dam Victory was floating in the pool, flying a banner that said
“For Those Who Give a Dam.”
With funding assured by the results of the referendum, work
to repair the dam could begin. It had taken a year of concerted
effort to arrive at this point, and the victory marked the
community’s greatest success to date. The newsletter’s editor,
Myron Birnbaum, praised Stuart Finley “for identifying the
Watershed Improvement District provisions of the Virginia
statutes as a means for financing lake restoration,” and
reminded readers that “he shepherded and masterminded the
enterprise every step of the way.” John Haughey, president of
BARLAMA, received Birnbaum’s kudos “for his magnificent
job of detailed planning and community leadership in carrying
through the all important Second Referendum.”